JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Area high school track and field athletes finished their season and some athletes wrapped up their prep careers Friday and Saturday in the 98th (boys) and 50th (girls) MSHSAA Track & Field Championships at Jefferson City High’s Adkins Stadium.
Highlighting the area teams in Class 4 and Class 5, the Webb City boys finished just outside a team trophy in Class 4 with their 40 points, one behind fourth place Hazelwood East, while the Webb City girls finished 11th with 26 points.
Webb City won three individual state championships to highlight seven medal-winning performances Saturday.
Between their boys and girls squads, the Cardinals totaled 11 all-state performances with their four on Friday.
Joplin, Neosho, Carthage and Carl Junction, as well as Nevada and Monett, all had athletes give outstanding individual performances that earned them medals on the highest stage in Missouri high school track and field.
CLASS 5
JOPLIN HIGHLIGHTS
Senior distance runner Hobbs Campbell parlayed his success in cross country and track and field into signing with the University of Kansas to continue his academic and athletic career next year at the next level.
Unfortunately, for the decorated senior, he did not earn a medal in his final high school event, finishing 11th overall Saturday in the 3200 in 9 minutes and 42.27 seconds.
Campbell finished second Friday in the 1600 in 4:13.01, .22 behind state champion Andrew Hauser from Rock Bridge, and fifth in the 800 in 1:55 to add two medals to his collection.
Hauser and Campbell also finished first and second in the 1600 last year, Hauser 4:11.72 and Campbell 4:12.19.
Campbell also placed fifth in the 800 last year. As a sophomore, Campbell finished sixth in the 1600 in 4:20.
During his prep cross country career, Campbell placed fifth in Class 5 as a senior, 14th in Class 5 as a junior and 34th in Class 5 as a sophomore.
On the girls side, Joplin’s 4×100 relay of Phia Vogel, Abigayle Lowery, Abigail Eckert, and Brylee Strickland finished eighth Saturday in 54.12 to earn a state medal.
NEOSHO HIGHLIGHTS
Senior sprinter Tyrese Hill finished sixth Saturday in the 200 in 21.89 and joined his classmate Collyn Kivett in closing it out with a state medal, as Kivett placed fifth in the javelin Friday.
The Neosho boys’ historic season included their first Central Ozark Conference team title, their first team district title since 1979, and their first team sectional title.
CARTHAGE HIGHLIGHTS
Carthage sophomore Karlie Nichols finished 16th Saturday in the shot put at 34-0.25.
CLASS 4
WEBB CITY HIGHLIGHTS
Senior pole vaulter Grayson Smith closed out his outstanding prep career Saturday with his second state title in a row as he cleared a height of 15 feet and 5.75 inches, besting runner-up Travis Greenfield (Marshfield) by more than a foot-and-a-half.
Smith won his first Class 4 state title last year with the same 15-5.75 mark, beating Kearney’s John Timchak and his 13-11 clearance.
As a sophomore, Smith finished second in Class 4 at 14-10, just a couple inches behind Helias Catholic’s Dominic Crisostom.
Smith has signed with local NCAA Division II school Pittsburg State to continue his academic and track and field career.
Junior distance runner Evan Stevens also won a state title Saturday afternoon in the 3200 with a time of 9.18, :04 faster than runner-up Ian Schram (Festus).
Stevens placed fifth Friday in the 1600 in 4:21 and he medaled in the 3200 his sophomore year with a time of 9:45 good for seventh.
Junior thrower Nate Miller finished third in the discus Saturday with a toss of 163-11, and he improved by 20 feet and eight places from his sophomore year at state.
Jadon Brisco joined Smith as a medalist in the pole vault, his clearance of 12-4 earning the junior eighth and his first state medal.
On the girls side, junior Dawsyn Decker won a state title in the javelin with a throw of 139-10, out-throwing Savannah’s Rhyan Schrick by nearly nine feet.
Decker placed fourth at 126-3 her sophomore year for her first state medal.
Senior distance runner Abi Street earned her second medal of her last state meet with a fourth Saturday in the 1600 in 5:08.
Street, who will be headed to the University of Kansas to continue her academic and track and field career, placed third Friday in the 3200 in 10:59.
Street qualified last year in the 3200 but did not medal with her 12th place time of 12:07. Thus, she improved her time at state by more than a minute from her junior to her senior year and moved up nine spots in the individual standings.
Street began her senior year with a third place in Class 4 in cross country, as she improved from her fifth place in Class 4 her junior year and her 77th in Class 4 as a sophomore.
Freshman mid-distance runner Brooke Hedger finished fourth Saturday in the 800 in 2:19.
CARL JUNCTION HIGHLIGHTS
Sophomore sprinter Sydney Ward placed fifth in the 100 in 12.21 and the 200 in 25.15, repeating the nifty feat from her freshman year of earning medals in both sprinting events.
Last year, Ward finished sixth in the 100 in 12.32 and in the 200 in 26.01.
OTHER CLASS 4 HIGHLIGHTS
Nevada senior jumper Drew Beachler won a state title in the triple jump with a mark of 45-10, beating St. Charles Lutheran’s Keylan LaGrant by three-quarters of an inch.
Beachler finished second in the long jump on Friday.
Last year, Beachler placed fifth in the long jump and seventh in the triple jump. As a sophomore, Beachler finished eighth in the long jump.
All told, Beachler accumulated five state medals in his two events, highlighted by a state title in his final high school event.
Monett senior hurdler Konner Poynter won a state title with a time of 38.33 in the 300 hurdles.
Poynter finished seventh in Class 4 in the 400 and qualified for state in the 110 hurdles during his junior year.
RELATED STORY: STATE TRACK & FIELD: Area athletes earn medals on Day 1 – SoMo Sports (somo-sports.com)
